U.S. Mineral Files Chapter 11

WILMINGTON, Del./July 23 ‹ Asbestos product manufacturer United
States Mineral Products Corporation has filed a Chapter 11 petition in
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, citing an unmanageable number of
asbestos claims pending against the company, HarrisMartin Publishing is
reporting.

The Stanhope, N.J.-based firm filed what is the latest in a string of
asbestos-related Chapter 11 petitions early Monday morning.

A company spokeswoman said that over the past several years, more than
200,000 asbestos-related personal injury complaints have been filed
against the company. Many of those cases were settled before trial, the
spokeswoman said.

"We were a small manufacturer that was drawn into a significant
amount of litigation," she said. "It simply became
unmanageable."

Unites States Mineral Products Corp. is the latest company with ties to
the asbestos industry to file for Chapter 11 since USG Corp filed for
protection on June 25.

More on United States Mineral Products Corp.¹s Chapter 11 filing
will be available at www.harrismartin.com throughout the day and will
appear in the August issue of HarrisMartin¹s COLUMNS-Asbestos, a
monthly magazine that covers the asbestos litigation.

For more information about the publication or to receive a copy of the
Chapter 11 petition, call (800) 496-4319.